What’s next for KY Ford plants, employees after end of BlueOval partnership?
Mass layoffs are anticipated to start soon at Kentucky’s BlueOval SK plant as it shifts from making electric vehicle batteries to making energy storage systems.
South Korean battery maker SK On and Ford Motor Co. ended their joint venture for U.S. production of parts for electric vehicles Dec. 11. Once the split is final, a subsidiary of Ford will take ownership of the Kentucky plant in Glendale, located outside of Elizabethtown.
In the transition, about 1,600 people will be laid off, though Ford has encouraged those impacted by job loss to reapply for a position with the automaker as it takes over the facility to make batteries that will store energy from sources like wind and solar.
The automaker’s plan to repurpose the Hardin County plant was announced Dec. 15 along with a series of other restructuring plans Ford will start in 2026 to give its shareholders more return on their investments in the company.
Ford said Monday its electric vehicle investments and assets had lost about $19.5 billion in value, much of which is from the costs associated with canceling some fully electric models due to decreasing demand. Another chunk of the loss comes from expenses related to the end of the BlueOval SK joint venture.
In 2024, Ford lost $5 billion on its EV operations and is likely to lose more this year. During this year’s third quarter, SK On reported an operating loss of nearly $85 million, nearly double the losses reported during the preceding quarter, due in part to low numbers of battery shipments.
The EV market has seen a slowdown of demand this fall due in part to federal tax credits for their purchase expiring and President Donald Trump’s policies that favors gasoline-powered cars and regulations that loosen fuel economy rules.
Here’s what else you need to know.
Impact to BlueOval jobs
Ford’s new energy storage business will have 2,100 employees, said Jessica Enoch, the automaker’s communications director. The original completed BlueOval SK facilities were expected to employ 5,000 people.
Ford and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear have encouraged those likely to be impacted by job loss to reapply for jobs with Ford when they become available to support the manufacturing of energy storage systems.
As of Dec. 16, a WARN notice — a required, formal, 60-day advance alert of termination an employer must send to its employees — had not been filed with the state.
BlueOval SK Senior Communications Manager Mallory Cooke told the Herald-Leader, “the last day for team members at the Kentucky plant will be 60 days after receiving notice,” that would be sent “in the coming days.”
Shift from EVs to energy storage systems
Facilities at BlueOval SK in Glendale will be converted to manufacture a special kind of lithium-ion cells, battery energy storage system modules and 20-foot modular data center containers.
The energy storage initiative will “leverage underutilized electric vehicle battery capacity to create a new, diversified and profitable revenue stream for Ford,” the company said in a news release.
Energy storage systems capture and store energy to release later, especially from sources like solar and wind. It’s used alongside regular generation of electricity to provide flexibility and reliability.
Ford’s new business, which will include sales and service, is meant to capture the demand for battery storage from data centers and infrastructure to support the electricity grid. Customers for the systems Ford will now make in Kentucky are likely to be utility companies, data centers and developers of solar and wind farms, the company predicted.
Timing, capacity, market goals
Ford’s repurposed plant will likely start production within the next 18 months, or sometime in mid-2027.
All batteries made at the Kentucky 1 plant in Glendale, once repurposed, will be for energy storage. Their production will be paired with the manufacturing of 20-foot data center container systems.
Broader corporate strategy shift
The BlueOval SK repurposing plan was announced along with a larger pivot, which company executives said follow the needs of the customer.
Some of those plans include scrapping plans for larger EVs in favor of making hybrid vehicles on its Universal EV Platform.
“This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” Jim Farley, the automaker’s president and CEO, said in a statement Dec. 15. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids, and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.”
A new, midsize, four-door electric pickup truck will be produced at the Louisville Assembly Plant starting in 2027. It will be the first in Ford’s platform and will be assembled on its Universal EV Production System. The automaker invested $2 billion in the Jefferson County plant in August for its production and said it would keep 2,200 jobs.
What’s next for project’s incentive package
In September 2021, when BlueOval SK was first announced, Ford and SK On promised to invest $5.8 billion and employ 5,000 people full-time.
That month, legislation passed allowing the state to spend more than $410 million on incentives to attract economic development projects with investments of more than $2 billion.
Based on BlueOval SK’s promised investment and job creation figures, the state offered the joint venture a performance-based, forgivable loan of up to $250 million. As part of the incentive package, the state also transferred the 1,550-acre property in Glendale to the joint venture.
As with any company that makes operational changes that impact its original incentive agreement with the state, terms for Ford are being renegotiated. Incentive commitments are likely to be assumed by the Ford subsidiary taking over the plant next year.
An AI tool assisted with compiling and summarizing information in this article. It was then edited by Herald-Leader journalists.
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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